Black Beauty

This steel-clad home makes a bold statement on the outside, but inside it’s warm, welcoming and designed to create the ultimate Kiwi childhood

- Debbie Harrison

It’s not unusual for strangers to drive up Celene Busher-Nepia and Darnell Nepia’s north Auckland driveway to knock on the door and pepper them with questions about their big, black, steel-clad home. “This house is an attention-seeker, that’s for sure,” laughs Celene. “I’ve also had people message me through Instagram to ask about our build or even to say that our home-inspired them to build a black A-frame, which is amazing.”

For interior designer Celene, this is the best sort of feedback. But she didn’t set out to start a trend when she and Darnell began their house build in 2015 – she just knew what she liked.

“Building homes with black Colorsteel wasn’t a popular choice back then, but I fell in love with black A-frame houses after trawling Pinterest and being inspired by all these gorgeous Scandinavian homes,” says Celene. “And now that we’ve built, I’m even more convinced. It just blends in so nicely with the beautiful countryside.”

THE PLAN

Celene and Darnell bought their land in Algies Bay, on the Mahurangi Peninsula, in 2012 without even setting foot on it. Living in London at the time, the couple were expecting their first baby and looking at lifestyle blocks back in New Zealand so they could move home to raise their family.

“We saw this northeast-facing, sheltered 1.1-hectare site with a beautiful rural outlook and it was only minutes away from three beaches – one being Martins Bay, which we love. We asked family to check it out, and my parents said they could see us being happy there. That was enough for us,” Celene recalls.